Chapter 767 SQM Company
“We have donated US$1 million to the rescue operations of the San Jose copper mine disaster in Chile and sent a team to assist in the rescue efforts...”
The person who said this to Barron was Williams Bullard, the executive vice president of the West African Mining Group. As for the CEO of the West African Mining Group, Andrew Cole, he directly led the team to Chile.
As for the San Jose copper mine accident that Williams mentioned, it refers to the accident that occurred at a copper and gold mine called San Jose in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile on August 5. Landslide accident.
This accident caused 32 Chilean miners and 1 Bolivian miner working underground to be trapped 700 meters deep underground. The rescue work was immediately launched. The Chilean side attached great importance to this accident. The President of Chile and the Minister of Health both went to the scene of the accident to organize rescue operations.
On August 22, rescue workers finally dug a narrow passage with a diameter of 6 inches (approximately 15.2 centimeters) from the ground directly to the shelter where the miners were.
Then they used this passage and received a small note written by the surviving miners in the shelter: "All 33 of us are in the shelter, all safe."
At this time, the miners Surviving for 17 days with a small amount of emergency food stored underground is a miracle.
Then using this passage, rescuers began to deliver supplies to the trapped miners, including food, water and air...
They were even able to talk to their families and watch football games - —After the channels were expanded, they sent television sets and signal cables down.
According to the plan of the rescuers, they will use a special drill to penetrate the hard rock formation and dig out a rescue tunnel with a diameter of about 66 cm (circumference of about 207 cm, equivalent to the size of a bicycle tire), leading directly to the trapped miners. space.
This requires all trapped miners to keep their waist circumference below 90 centimeters because the rescue tools also take up space in the rescue tunnel.
This rescue tunnel is planned to take 120 days to build.
The West African Mining Group also provided help for this rescue, including donating funds and sending an experienced team...
The reason why they were so active this time, The reason is that the West African Mining Group is seeking to acquire shares in Chilean Chemical and Mining Company (SQM) and even further control the company.
Therefore, they hope to take advantage of the current opportunity to gain favor from Chile.
Andrew Cole, CEO of West Africa Mining Group, directly led his team to Chile for this very purpose.
The reason why the West African Mining Group is interested in this company is that it hopes to obtain the lithium mining rights owned by the Chilean Chemical Mining Company (SQM), especially their lithium mining rights in Chile.
As we all know, Chile is very rich in lithium ore resources and is the world's largest lithium ore reserve country. Its proven reserves currently account for more than 36% of the world's proven reserves!
Chile's lithium resources are mainly distributed in the salt lake area in the north, located in the so-called "lithium triangle" area of South America. The lithium resources in the "lithium triangle" area include the Atacama Salt Lake and Umbretto Toles Salt Lake and Parapolca Salt Lake, etc.
Among them, the Atacama Salt Lake is located in Chile and is one of the world's leading lithium producing areas.
The mining rights of the salt lake are mainly in the hands of the Chilean chemical and mining company (SQM), and the lithium carbonate it produces is known for its high quality. In addition, Chilean Chemical Mining Company has also acquired some lithium mining rights in Bolivia, Argentina and Australia through acquisitions. It can be said that it is the company with the highest lithium reserves.
Chile Chemical Mining Company has mature technology and optimized lithium production process, which can effectively control costs, have stable production capacity and high product quality.
This is why it was spotted by the West African Mining Group and hoped to acquire its shares or even complete its controlling stake in the company.
After all, Barron knows that lithium mines are very important to the battery industry in the future new energy industry.
The current price of lithium carbonate ore, the main source of lithium, is less than US$10,000 per ton, but in ten years, its price will soar to more than US$50,000.
At that time, Chilean chemical and mining companies will also double their net worth because of the rich lithium ores they own.
Chile Chemical and Mining Company (SQM) was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Santiago, the capital of Chile.
They were listed on Nasdaq in 1993. Relying on their geographical resource advantages, they have developed into a global professional manufacturer of potassium nitrate, iodine, and lithium, accounting for approximately 50%, 40%, and 35% of the global share respectively. ,
In Barron's previous life, China's Tianqi Lithium acquired 23.77% of SQM's shares for US$4.066 billion in 2018. However, this time, Chile later announced that it would state-owned domestic lithium mines. After the reform, disputes arose - Tianqi Lithium's interests in SQM were infringed, and they could only resort to litigation...
However, the market value of SQM is now only less than 4.5 billion US dollars. For For Barron, who hopes to get involved in the lithium mining and processing industry, which will have a great impact on the battery industry in the future, it is naturally a very suitable acquisition time.
“We have reached an agreement with the Canadian Potash Company and are preparing to acquire their 25% stake in the Chilean Chemical Mining Company for US$1.2 billion. This acquisition was confirmed by SQM It can be achieved later, but if we want to continue to acquire more shares of SQM, we will need to do more work..."
Before going to Santiago, the CEO of West Africa Mining Group First, he arrived in Canada and reached an agreement with the Canadian Potash Corporation, the world's largest potash fertilizer manufacturer, to acquire shares of SQM Company.
It is worth mentioning that in Barron's previous life, the 23.77% SQM shares purchased by China Xia Qi Lithium were purchased from the Canadian Potash Company.
To purchase the 25% stake in SQM held by the Canadian Potash Company, the West African Mining Group's bid was US$1.2 billion, which corresponded to a value of more than US$5 billion for the Chilean Chemical Mining Company, giving the Canadian Potash Company a considerable premium. This is why they are willing to sell these shares.
“Lithium mine is very important for battery production. With the improvement of lithium battery technology, its application scenarios will become more and more abundant, so its price will definitely usher in a strong rise. …”
For West African Mining Group, Barron used the increase in the future value of lithium mines as the reason for acquiring Chilean Chemical Mining Company.
What he values more is the demand for lithium batteries from industries such as mobile phones and other consumer electronics as well as electric vehicles. It can be said that the number of lithium mines controlled directly determines the right to speak in the new energy industry.
(End of this chapter)